brushfire

1 of 2

adjective

brush·​fire ˈbrəsh-ˌfī(-ə)r 

: involving mobilization only on a small and local scale

brushfire border wars

brush fire

2 of 2

noun

1

: a fire involving low-growing plants (such as scrub and brush)

2

: a minor conflict or crisis

putting out political brush fires

Examples of brushfire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Several fire trucks worked to fight the flames coming from the tractor-trailers, while others were stationed on a nearby access street in case the brush fire spread further, according to Nardelli. —Riley Rourke, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2026

Forward progress was quickly stopped on a brush fire that forced evacuation orders and threatened homes in the rural North County community of Rainbow early Wednesday afternoon. —Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026

In addition, the array experienced a brush fire last year that was attributed to nearby utility equipment. —John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 2 Apr. 2026

Debris from the engine fell near the runway and ignited a small brush fire on the ground. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 30 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1954, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1850, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for brushfire

• admire
• afire
• aspire
• backfire
• esquire
• expire
• haywire
• hellfire
• inquire
• inspire
• newswire
• perspire